Fr. Stephen Huffstetter, SCJ, was a recent guest on a WCAT TV podcast. Former vicar general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Steve is now beginning his new assignment as president-rector of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of the Theology. The focus of the WCAT interview was on homiletics (one of the interviewers, Dcn. Steve Kramer, is SHSST’s Director of Homiletics); however, during the interview Fr. Steve was also asked to talk about the Dehonians and his own vocation to the community.
Fr. Steve attended Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson, IN, but he says that he had no intention of pursuing a religious vocation. He went to the minor seminary as a day student.
“By the time I was a senior in high school and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life I said, ‘Well maybe I’ll give this [religious life] a try,’” said Fr. Steve. “The priests and brothers at the school were our basketball coaches and our driver’s ed teachers and worked alongside us cleaning things and fixing things and I just got to see them as ‘normal people’ who had gifts that they wanted to share with people in the church. Because they were very human I could see myself doing what they were doing; there was holiness too and inspiration, but I just really was struck by the human relationships and the relatability of these men.”
Fr. Steve applied to become a candidate and continued his studies, eventually professing vows in 1982.
When asked about how he prepares his homilies, Fr. Steve noted the often-cited image of Fr. Dehon with a newspaper in one hand and a bible in the other. “You need to pay attention to the times,” he said. “If you don’t, you aren’t talking about the really important things that people are struggling with.”
Click here to view the full interview.
